Arts & Entertainment
Queery: Kenya Hutton
The D.C.-area youth LGBT advocate answers 20 gay questions
Kenya Hutton (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Kenya Hutton noticed in his LGBT advocacy work that there was often a gap between services for teens and young adults. That and losing a good friend to AIDS in his native Brooklyn in the ‘90s, inspired him to devote his life to HIV and young adult work.
“A lot of it is HIV prevention work and getting young adults to think about the things we do to put ourselves at risk,” he says. “And encouraging them to be productive citizens who don’t just have to accept whatever is thrown at them.”
Since moving to Washington in 2006 after two years of doing this kind of work full time in New York, Hutton, 34, has worked variously with HIPS, Us Helping Us and more recently, the Carl Vogel Center and a new organization, Voices of One in Maryland. He’s also on the board of D.C. Black Pride. Consulting and programming are his full-time work. Hutton says he’s been “blessed” to be able to find a way to do this kind of work as a career. In September, he was honored at an Alston House benefit for his youth advocacy work.
“Growing up in New York in the ‘90s was tough, very tough,” he says. “Although in New York, there were places you could go and get services, nobody really talked about being gay, HIV or sex in general. It just didn’t happen.”
Hutton and his boyfriend, Charles, have been dating since earlier this year. Hutton lives in District Heights, Md., and enjoys volunteering, cooking and traveling in his free time.
How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?
I finally came out completely in 2006; the hardest people to tell were my little sisters. Even though when I told them, they said they already knew.
Who’s your LGBT hero?
RuPaul. She has been a public gay man for as long as I can remember. Truly a trailblazer.
What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present?
I’ve been privy to experiencing the Edge/Wet days on occasion. I’m not really into the nightlife scene anymore, but I’ve been to the Warehouse Loft and Nellie’s and they seem to be pretty fun.
Describe your dream wedding.
Get back to me on that.
What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about?
Health care, especially for the elderly.
What historical outcome would you change?
LGBT inequality
What’s been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime?
The death of Michael Jackson.
On what do you insist?
Being honest and straightforward. It prevents any misunderstandings further down the road if everyone will just be honest and straightforward in the beginning.
What was your last Facebook post or Tweet?
Waiting for the IOS 6 download!
If your life were a book, what would the title be?
“The Life of the Unknown.”
If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do?
Nothing. If I wasn’t a gay man, I have no idea where I would be today.
What do you believe in beyond the physical world?
I believe there are forces that we cannot see that are around us.
What’s your advice for LGBT movement leaders?
We are still at the tip of the movement, don’t give up thinking our work is over!
What would you walk across hot coals for?
Love
What LGBT stereotype annoys you most?
That we are all loud, obnoxious sexual deviants.
What’s your favorite LGBT movie?
“Boys Don’t Cry”
What’s the most overrated social custom?
Partying all the time.
What trophy or prize do you most covet?
I love all awards I have received equally.
What do you wish you’d known at 18?
The true cost of things.
Why Washington?
I needed a change from New York. And Washington was the best logical place for personal and professional advancement.
a&e features
Television loses a legend, longtime ‘Will & Grace’ director James Burrows
Iconic hitmaker leaves behind a legacy of telling LGBTQ stories
You don’t have to be a pretentious film major to name 10 movie directors. But naming television directors is not that simple. They’re the unsung heroes of your favorite shows, and the late James Burrows was the television director. He passed on June 19, but his DNA runs through television history.
He directed over 1200 episodes of television and over 50 pilots. He co-created “Cheers” and directed many episodes of long-running series like “Friends,” “Taxi,” “Frasier,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Two and a Half Men.” You also may remember him from playing a heightened version of himself on the Lisa Kudrow comedy “The Comeback.”
He has left an indelible mark on the LGBTQ community. As recently as last year, he directed the series run of “Mid-Century Modern” starring Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, and Linda Lavin. He was also a longtime director of “Will & Grace” and directed every episode of the series revival. He even directed the unaired “Absolutely Fabulous” pilot with Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Johnston, and Zosia Mamet.
Not to mention he’s worked with queer icons throughout history, including Betty White and Stockard Channing on their single-season series, and Jennifer Coolidge in “2 Broke Girls.”
He started his career on shows like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Rhoda,” “Laverne & Shirley,” and the first four seasons of “Taxi.”
He continued to work steadily and directed successful pilots that went to series for “Roc,” “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “Dharma & Greg,” and “Wings.” He directed multiple episodes of “Friends,” “Caroline in the City,” and “Frasier.”
This magic continued into the 2000s with him directing the pilots for “Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and multiple episodes of “Mike & Molly,” and the entire return series of “Will & Grace.”
What was the secret to his success? He’d enact the “fun clause” in his contract. In his words, “Life is too short to deal with obnoxious leads,” he shared. “So as long as the writing is good and the cast is fun, I’m going to enjoy the experience.”
He had the magic touch, having multiple pilots turned into long-running series. He was nominated for an Emmy 24 times in 26 years and worked consistently until a year before his death.
The secret was the way he brought the cast together. He describes, “it was my job to mold them into an ensemble, and they did round into a group of people who loved each other.”
This earned him 11 Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards, including being awarded the inaugural DGA’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Television Direction.
In a 2003 interview by the Television Academy, he was asked how he wants to be remembered, and he said, “That every night forever you can tune in somewhere, and there’ll be a show I did.”
He’s survived by his wife, Debbie, four daughters, seven grandchildren, and the countless people whose careers he launched and the countless viewers he inspired with his television legacy.
Photos
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(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key, Robert Rapanut and Landon Shackelford)
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